By Melissa HartIt is not lost on me that I have one of the best jobs in the world. Traveling is fun but traveling to so many state fairs and cattle shows is something I have enjoyed my entire life. I think I inherited the love of a cattle show from my mom, who would have spent her entire summer on the road showing something anywhere she could if she had not been busy with a family and a farm.
When I interviewed Alta Mae Core of Salvisa, Kentucky for our DAT Extra podcast, I realized she lived that life with her parents. They went from show to show all summer long and last weekend, as a grandmother, I followed her into Broadbent Arena with a spring calf and followed her out with the Supreme Champion of the Kentucky State Fair.
There is just something about the smell of shavings and the
sound of clippers with hair flying that reminds us that we are near people we
can relate to….we are home.
We started our state fair coverage in Columbus at the Ohio
State Fair. This fair is long because there are two weekends of coverage. The exhibitors are fantastic, the staff is
second to none and I feel at home. But I’m
amazed at what I’m still learning about the people I work side by side with and
have for years.
Erica Davis is an essential part of our coverage at the Ohio
State Fair, but she also helps in the dairy entry office as well. This year she
helped with the Ohio State Fair agricultural promotion program where she helped
take care of calves that were on display for the public to pet and the cows
that were there for the public to try their hand at milking.
One evening after a long day in the show ring, I went along
with her to help take care of the cows and calves that had been on
display. She milked both the cows, I helped
feed and clean up the mess and my plan was to head back to the hotel and go to
sleep.
She was finishing up with the four calves that were real
attention hogs. They loved the public
and the public loved them and as she was getting ready to leave, the fairgoers
standing around the pen started to pepper her with questions. What breed is this? Does it hurt when they suck
on your hand? Do they still drink milk? How big will they get? Why do they have
such long eyelashes?
At this point, I was “peopled out” and happy to just
listen. Erica was not. She engaged with each person and went into
more detail with every question. She
took her time and waited for the follow up questions and answered those
too. She was in no hurry, as long as
they were going to ask questions, she was there to answer. I knew Erica liked
to visit, but I had no idea she was such a strong advocate bridging the gap
between rural and urban America.
These are the types of people we need in our industry who
will not just spew facts or argue a point of view, but will engage with people,
speak their language and at their level.
As removed as society is from production agriculture, the opportunities
to teach people and relay a healthy perspective to the modern culture becomes
more and more important every day.
I’ve said it so many times before and I will continue to say
it again, I work with the best people.
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